About Me

My name is Georgia, and I love to write. As an avid gardener, I have spent hours writing about gardening, but in this space, I wanted to turn my attention to trees in particular. I recently added a number of fruit trees to my garden, and I have old oaks in front of my house which have suffered and survived through a range of mishaps. If you want to learn ideas for taking better care of your trees, you have stumbled onto the right blog. Welcome to this space, please explore and share this blog with your friends if they inspire you.

Archive

Tags

Saving Money In Retirement: Make A Vegetable Garden That Won't Break Your Back!

One of the nicest parts about retirement is not having to get up to go to work every morning, but then there is also the loss of income to make an adjustment for. There are a number of ways you can reduce your living costs so your pension stretches further, and one of these is to grow your own vegetables at home. However, before you start pulling the spade out of the garage, there is an easier way to grow your vegetables that will not be labour intensive for your back. It's time to consider building a raised bed to grow your vegetables in.

Benefits Of A Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

When it comes to growing your new vegetables in a raised garden bed, one of the biggest health benefits is that your vegetables are not down at ground level. A raised garden bed has a soil level about 50 cm off the ground. This means there is half a metre less that you have to bend down to remove weeds or pick your vegetables when they are ready for harvesting. Also, because the soil level is off the ground, you can do most of the work while standing beside the garden rather than kneeling down beside it. This means less stress on the knee joints, which is welcome news for those suffering from arthritis.

Vegetables grow better in a raised bed vegetable garden because the soil you put in there is chosen to suit the vegetables you wish to grow. There is no rocks or clay in the topsoil you place in this vegetable garden. Additionally, because you don't walk through a raised bed garden, the soil doesn't get compacted down by your feet. When the soil is not compacted, it drains away water properly and this stops the roots of your vegetables from becoming water logged.

Easiest Way To Make A Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

The fastest way to put together a raised bed garden is to purchase treated pine sleepers from your local hardware store. Decide how big you want your rectangular garden bed to be, and then purchase enough of the treated pine sleepers to build this rectangular box. To allow plenty of room for soil height, purchase enough sleepers so the height of the raised garden box can be built at least two sleepers high.

Before you put your raised garden box together, paint the sleepers with a water repellent sealant you have also purchased at the hardware store. Not only will this protect your sleepers from the weather, but it will also make sure none of the treatment chemicals seep into the garden soil.

To build the raised garden bed, cut your pine sleepers to the length you need, and then fasten them together where the corners meet using screws and a cordless drill until you have a rectangle. Attach the second level by building a second rectangle and then place it on top of the first. You then use long screws to drill down into the level below. You can do this for a third level if you choose to.

Once the raised bed is screwed together, fill it with clean topsoil and plant your vegetables.

Saving money during retirement isn't always easy, but growing your own vegetables is one way you can combine enjoying some fresh air with lower food costs. A raised garden bed is not tough to create, so have a chat with your local hardware store (such as Australian Treated Pine) once you know what size treated pine sleepers you need.